BY MAT CLOUSER
RUTLAND COUNTY—Last week, The Reporter focused its election coverage on Vermont’s US Senate and US House races. This week’s focus will turn to local affairs—specifically the state senate and house races—where voters will get to choose from various new and old faces in their quest to keep Vermont running at its best.
Six candidates (three Democrats and three Republicans) vie for the three Rutland County senate seats, while the house races (Districts 8 and 9) are decidedly less competitive—with each race featuring one incumbent running unopposed: Butch Shaw (R) and Stephanie Jerome (D), respectively. Shaw seeks his seventh term, while Jerome seeks her third.
There is only one incumbent in the state senate race, Brian Collamore (R). Collamore has served in the state senate since 2015 and is well known throughout the region for his lengthy career in radio and his involvement as a youth and college hockey official.
He is joined by Republicans Dave Weeks and Terry K. Williams. Weeks is a Wallingford native and Proctor resident with a lengthy military background who bills himself as a “fiscally conservative, politically moderate, consensus builder.” Williams does not appear to be fielding an active campaign.
The three Democrats joining them in the senate race seek to help the Dems gain a veto-proof super majority. Each of the three—Joshua Ferguson, Anna Tadio, and Bridgette Remington—are Rutland natives and residents who boast a relatively youthful exuberance alongside their extensive legal and civic accomplishments.
Tadio and Remington currently work as lawyers—Tadio as an immigration attorney and Remington in private practice—while Ferguson is an environmentalist and sailboat restorer with a history of community outreach with Project VISION and youth sports involvement.
This year, The Reporter asked each of the aforementioned candidates to state their position and rationale surrounding the issues of Prop 5/Article 22, mental health services, workforce development, equity and inclusivity, public education, gun control, business development, agriculture, immigration to Vermont, and police reform.
Each candidate’s complete response (wherever possible) has been included with only minimal edits for clarification. Read them at the links below.
State Senate candidates:
Terry K. Williams (R) does not have a campaign website and has not responded to The Reporter’s request for a biography or answers to the questionnaire.
